300 CHURNING 



to the fact that, owing to improper care, the wood of the churn 

 has become loaded with grease and alkali. The most effective 

 remedy against stickiness then, is to treat the churn with a chem- 

 ical that will free the pores of the wood from the grease and 

 alkali, and that is to rinse out the churn with a dilute solution 

 of sulphuric acid, using one quart of commercial sulphuric acid 

 in 100 gallons of water and running the churn with this acid 

 solution for about an hour. The churn must then be rinsed 

 thoroughly with several washings of hot water. 



Straining the Cream. The cream should be strained into 

 the churn. This is best done by inserting a strainer with fine 

 perforations into the churn door opening. These strainers can 

 be obtained from any one of the reliable creamery supply 

 houses. The straining is necessary in order to break up and 

 keep out of the churn, lumps of curd which might otherwise be 

 incorporated in the butter and give rise to white specks and 

 other irregularities in color. The proper straining of the cream 

 will also avoid insoluble foreign matter, impurities flies, 

 etc., from being churned into the butter. In farm buttermak- 

 ing on a small scale the use of a strainer dipper is a very con- 

 venient way whereby the cream may be strained as it enters 

 the churn. 



Addition of Butter Color. The market demands that butter 

 be uniform in color, and the successful manufacturer must 

 supply that which the consumer wants. The natural color of 

 butter is that which is naturally yielded by cows feeding upon 

 green pasture. This color is of a bright golden yellow. Ac- 

 cording to Palmer 1 this yellow color is due to the yellow pigment 

 carotin and xanthophyll, found in fresh green feeds and which 

 accompany, and are hidden by, the chlorophyll. During the 

 flush, of the milk producing season the great majority of the 

 cows are on green pasture, therefore the great bulk of butter 

 has this golden yellow color as a natural ingredient. Towards 

 fall when the pastures begin to dry up, the natural color of the 

 butter becomes lighter and in winter, when the cows are on 

 dry feed, butter is only faintly yellow, the exact shade of color 



1 Palmer, "The Yellow Color in Cream and Butter," Missouri Circular 74, 

 1915. 



